RF's Financial News

Sunday, November 25, 2012

I remember hearing Clint Eastwood say:
“I have a very strict gun control policy: if there’s a gun around, I want to be
in control of it.” Well, this week, it
seems that drug lords along with Raymond Yans (the president
of the UN's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB)) are lining up to
challenge marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington. Apparently, the voters in Colorado and Washington were unaware that
they would have to fight off not only the UN, but also global drug czars in
their effort to exercise their local sovereignty. Mr. Yans (in a letter this week) reminded
the United States that we agreed to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic
Drugs, signed by 185 States, that placed marijuana under control, and limited
its use for medicinal purposes. The
INCB President requested the Government of the United States take the necessary
measures to ensure full compliance with the international drug control treaties
within the entire territory of the United States, in order to protect the
health and well-being of its citizens. It is clear that the INCB (and the drug lords) have not been listening
to nearly every independent study presented to the U.N. (including the most
recent report in 2011 by the Global Commission on Drugs) concluding that the
global war on drugs has failed, and that governments should end the
criminalization of drug use. It’s one thing to be threatened by drug
lords, it’s quite another to be threatened by the UN. I find it amazing that the UN can step in and
try and tell our "sovereign" states what they can and cannot do.

On
another matter, I remember listening to Tony Robbins say: “We need to control
our consistent actions – because it’s not what we do once in a while that
shapes our lives, but rather what we do consistently.” A while back we talked about our 401K’s and
IRA’s – and how the US would look at the trillions sitting in these accounts
and begin to drool over them. Just this
week a vision of a new "National
Retirement System" was leaked.
Under this system Americans will turn over their private retirement
savings to the federal government in return for a government-controlled
annuity. Basically it’s ObamaCare
for your retirement accounts. Under the guise of 401K’s and IRA’s being
unfair to the poor and disadvantaged, a government-sponsored program administered by the PBGC (the government’s
Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation) is in the early stages of taking over
the administration of private retirement savings accounts. Fair warning – going forward – know where
your money is.

Change happens when you decide to take
control over what you do, instead of craving control over what you don't.

The
Market:

500
points in a week was a pretty strong bounce. Last week we suggested that it might be time
to play with the DIA’s and SPY’s (the Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) for the DOW
and the S&P) and that a bounce was near – but we never thought 500 points
was in the cards. We suggested that some
of the old leader stocks would bounce well, and Apple (AAPL) did just
that.

Calling
that bounce was fairly easy. We were
down about 1,000 points in a month, were oversold from every technical indicator,
and were just inches away from a traditional "10% correction". As I said, that was the easy part – the hard
part is trying to figure if this bounce has run it's course and we're going to
fade back, or if we have just seen the start of a powerful year end rally that
sweeps us into the "January effect" and we challenge the Sept/Oct
highs at 13,600. I can make a case for
either scenario.

This
coming week should hold the key. This
week (along with being perfectly set up for a bounce) was also the Thanksgiving
Holiday week, and everyone is usually optimistic around this time. With lower holiday trading volumes, they
often just jam things higher because there's no opposing down volume. But
come mid next week (when volumes return to normal) we will see just how much
profit taking and short selling is in store, and by week’s end we should be
able to figure if we're going to continue ‘up, up and away’ or not.

After
a blistering run like we just had, the only question at the beginning of this
week is: how much of a pullback will we see?

-On the downside, if the DOW fails the 12,800 level, and/or
the S&P fails 1,380 – we could go right back to the November lows.

-On the upside, watch for them to try and take out 13,200 on
the DOW and/or 1,426 on the S&P and then continue to us push us higher.

I'm
leaning toward the idea that we're going to see some mild profit taking and
then they'll come right back in and buy, in anticipation of a "fiscal
cliff deal". That should take us up
to challenge the October highs. I could
even see them punch through that resistance level and hit almost the all time
highs by late January. Again, it's too
early to tell but that's where I'm leaning right now.

Tips:

As
David S has written us – for reduced volatility with excellent return – take a
look at an ETF that mimics Pimco’s Total Return Bond Fund – BOND.

On
Monday – via Twitter – I’ll be posting about 15 stocks with buy in prices –
that look good both technically and fundamentally.

In
terms of my broken record picks – they’re still Gold and Silver. John Paulson continued pounding the gold drum
this week, and George Soros increased his gold holdings by 49% in the third
quarter of 2012. 16 analysts believe
that Gold will rise every
quarter next year and average $1,925 an ounce in the final three months – an
increase of 12%.

My current short-term holds are:

-AAPL – in at 525.35 (currently 571.98) – stop
at 562.00

-DBA – in at 28.30 (currently 28.73) – stop at
entry

-SIL – in at 24.51 (currently 23.37) – no stop
yet

-GLD (ETF for Gold) – in at 158.28, (currently
169.74) – no stop ($1,727.90 per physical ounce), AND

Expressed thoughts proffered within the
BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of
noted entrepreneur, professor and author, RF Culbertson, contributing sources
and those he interviews. You can learn
more and get your free subscription by visiting: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>
.

Please write to <rfc@getabby.com>
to inform me of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be
reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference
.

If you'd like to view RF's actual stock
trades - and see more of my thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a Twitter
follower - "taylorpamm" is my
handle.

Views expressed are provided for
information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer,
an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of,
or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations. Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not
registered and licensed brokers. This
message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is
intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute
an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice
can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering
document. Past performance is not
indicative of future performance. Please make sure to review important
disclosures at the end of each article.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an
offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson
and Associates.

PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF
FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN
INVESTING IN MANAGED FUNDS. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING
HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT
SOME PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF
INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS
MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING
INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

Alternative investment performance can
be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her
investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total
trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor
applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification
and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an
investor's interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to
develop.

All material presented herein is
believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions
expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or
the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>
Until next week – be safe.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

“We shall draw from the heart of suffering, the
means of inspiration and survival.” … Sir
Winston Churchill

Survivors of Hurricane Sandy have sent us the following tips:

-Water … two 55-gallon barrels would let a family of four
"flush" for a long time, and having 20 gallons of bottled water is
necessary for drinking, sponge baths, etc.

-Heat … either preparing food or staying warm – a wood stove
and your outdoor grill (with some propane) become your best friends.

-Power … a generator with a supply of ‘recreational’
fuel. This is gasoline that does NOT
have ethanol in it and will last up to 2 years.
An 8,000-watt generator will consume half a gallon of gasoline per hour
– so plan accordingly.

-So for under $3,000 you can make your coastal home quite
livable for weeks during something like Hurricane Sandy.

A
more global survival list goes something like this:

-Because the
Dow and the S&P 500 are both down more than 5 percent since the
election and the U.S. government rolled up $22 Billion more debt in October 2012
than it did in October 2011 – think gold, silver, and agriculture as
alternative investments.

-Initial claims for
unemployment benefits soared to 439,000 for the week ending November
10th. This is the highest level that we have seen in more than a
year. The largest number of new unemployment claims came from the
swing states of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

-According to
the Federal Reserve of New York, economic activity is contracting.Their index measured a ‘minus’ 5.2 this
month after recording a ‘minus’ 6.2 in October. (Readings of less than zero signal
contraction.)

-The mid-Atlantic region is also slowing much faster
than analysts were projecting.It’s
index measured ‘minus’ 10.7 down from ‘plus’ 5.7 the previous month.Some of the fall can be
attributable to Hurricane Sandy – but unfortunately not nearly enough.

-The number of Americans living
in poverty rose to a new all-time record of 49.7 million last year.

-The
number of Americans on food stamps increased by 420,947 from July to
August. At this point, an all-time record 47.1 million
Americans are enrolled in the food stamp program.

-The
Eurozone is officially in a recession once again, and unemployment in the
Eurozone is at an all-time record high.

-China is buying gold and building uninhabited ghost cities.

-Stealth inflation is running rampant – hamburger is over
$5/lb, and it costs $3.99 for a 10-piece loaf of sourdough bread.

-We learned this week (thanks to the powerful corn lobby) that
our (non-elected) EPA is going to continue the ethanol subsidies – taking corn
from being a valuable food resource.

-Companies like Denny's, Papa Johns and many others are
reducing worker hours and laying off personnel in order to avoid the Obamacare
mandatory price tag.

And
finally: The Middle East is a tinder
box, and if there's one thing we really don't need right now it's a full blown
outbreak of war across the Middle East, which brings into play Iran and the Straits
of Hormuz. An oil price jump linked to
additional US involvement would virtually assure a disastrous economic
condition.

Obama
could help us all survive by:

-Opening all the Federal lands to natural gas and oil
drilling.

-Opening the permits to build LNG plants on our coasts so we
could export LNG (liquid natural gas) all over the world.

-Donating Federal Property on closed military bases and have
several state of the art oil refineries built, supplying us with $2 gas and
exporting the rest.

-Shutting down the EPA, and undo the ethanol madness so that
corn is once again be a food source instead of fuel – thereby lowering our food
costs.

Let’s
all try and survive the storms that are coming: inflation, hyperinflation, high
unemployment, and even more class warfare.

The
Market...

There
are a lot of reasons that the market has plunged for about 1000 points in the
past month and I’ll explore a few of them here.

-1st the “Fiscal Cliff”. There's no doubt that some folks have decided
they'd cash out this year and take the lower tax hit than hold into next year
in case the tax rates are higher.

-2nd Obamacare.
We have companies saying that Obamacare is going to cut into profits and
jobs.

-3rd Revenues and Earnings. Revenues have been falling for years, and companies
have succeeded in keeping profits elevated by slashing jobs, cutting costs,
expensing things that should be illegal.
But you can only cut so far, and now profits are beginning to suffer.

Which
begs the question: “These elements have existed for a while now - why would
anyone stop buying stocks?” Honestly, I
think J.Q. Public is running out of money.
One thing to remember is that the 401K's and pension plans buy the bulk
of stocks for their mutual funds. As the
economy continues to slide, more and more folks will need that 401K money to
pay bills. Small businesses will
liquidate their 401K’s and IRA’s when they will close due to inflation and Obamacare. This year is on track for more than a $90B
withdrawn, on top of the $100B that was withdrawn last year. Eventually those exiting the market will
offset The Ben Bernanke billions pouring in – and a major league bear market will
begin. Many readers have told me that
raiding their 401K was the only way that they could send their kids to
college. Toss in the global slowdown,
the money troubles of Europe, and try as they might to keep the market
"up" – I just don't think they can pull it off in the long run.

After
we get whatever "bounce" we're going to get from an agreement on the ‘fiscal
cliff’ (and the fact that we're entering the single strongest period for the
market (Dec- Jan) ) – I sense the market heading lower for a long time (ending
below 7K) starting in the spring of 2013.

For
now keep your powder dry and sit on your hands.
Wait for the turn, jump in and ride it up, and then go short next year. There's going to be some huge money to be made
on the short side of things in the future.

Tips:

In
terms of investing your way OUT of this market.
I hate to be a broken record by Gold and Silver have remained fairly
stable vs the 1,000 point drop in the DOW (quite honestly) – so consider them
safe-havens for your dollars.

Also,
Dave S and Francis D reminded us that “DBA” the agricultural exchange traded
fund (ETF) is about to produce its first “higher low” in a long time. It should use its moving average as support. Additionally, we see that the weekly Relative
Strength Index (RSI) is about to become oversold, and this means that higher
prices are likely to come in the months ahead. In addition to that, the moving average
convergence divergence (MACD) index diverged from the falling price action
earlier in the year, and this showed that DBA’s descent was likely coming to an
end. That happened and now DBA has
surged so much that the MACD’s lines are now above its zero line. This tells us that the likelihood of an
uptrend forming and continuing is high. And
with what we expect in terms of higher food prices in 2013 and beyond, we know
that we’ll see DBA head much higher in the months ahead. So you may want to hedge some of your higher
grocery bills and dining out costs by buying DBA – the agricultural ETF.

I continued to hide out in ‘cash’ over the past week –
exiting SLW even. After our ‘Santa Claus
Rally’ – please remember the list below – as they will come in handy in order
to manage a bear market (ETF’s offered by ProShares):

-Short the DOW 30 –
ticker symbol = DOG

-Ultra Short the
DOW 30 = SDOW

-Short the
‘Financials’ – ticker symbol = SEF

-Ultra Short the
Financials = FINZ

-Short the Nasdaq =
PSQ

-Ultra Short the
Nasdaq = SQQQ

-And if you LOVE
SILVER = Ultra Silver = AGQ

My
current short-term holds are:

-SIL – in at 24.51 (currently 22.34) – no stop
yet

-GLD (ETF for Gold) – in at 158.28, (currently
165.80) – no stop ($1,714.30 per physical ounce), AND

Expressed thoughts proffered within the
BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of
noted entrepreneur, professor and author, RF Culbertson, contributing sources
and those he interviews. You can learn
more and get your free subscription by visiting: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>
.

Please write to <rfc@getabby.com>
to inform me of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be
reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference
.

If you'd like to view RF's actual stock
trades - and see more of my thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a Twitter
follower - "taylorpamm" is my
handle.

Views expressed are provided for
information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer,
an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of,
or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations. Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not
registered and licensed brokers. This
message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is
intended only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute
an offer for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice
can only be made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document. Past performance is not indicative of future
performance. Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of
each article.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an
offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson
and Associates.

PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF
FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN
INVESTING IN MANAGED FUNDS. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING
HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT SOME
PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF
INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS
MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING
INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

Alternative investment performance can
be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her
investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total
trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor
applying generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification
and, consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an
investor's interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to
develop.

All material presented herein is
believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions
expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or
the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>
Until next week – be safe.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

“Opportunity is missed by most people because opportunity
is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” … Thomas Edison

It’s the morning after the election, and we need to get
back to work fixing our country. Obama
has been re-elected, and the market rewarded him by falling about 450 points in
3 days. Previously I suggested that the
market may ‘pout’ if Obama won, and I'd call 450 points a pretty big tantrum. Small businessmen are blogging that they’re going
to be shutting down due to the regulations and taxes. Financially – SK writes that: “Several
sectors such as defense, energy and financials may well encounter headwinds
during Obama’s second term.” My
thinking is that traditional energy companies may suffer from both increased and
enforcement of EPA regulations. The
financial sector will also face increased regulatory implementation and
oversight, especially with Elizabeth Warren being elected to the Senate. Also think thru your municipal bond
investments because the value of municipal bonds is partly determined by the
value of their tax exemption. An
increase in tax rates could increase the value of these bonds, while a limit on
tax exemptions could reduce the value.

Mathematically we cannot tax our way out of our country’s
fiscal dilemma. Nor can we
‘mathematically’ cut spending (in a short enough timeframe) that will make a
difference. A true global reset like
Bretton Woods (where 170 World leaders gathered and hammered out the new global
reserve currency and re-priced all currencies) could be the last shoe to fall. We (as a country):

-Still have $700 Trillion in derivatives to
contend with.

-Still have $90+ Trillion in National debt and
unfunded liabilities.

-Still have over 43M people on food stamps,
and over 80+ social programs to support.

-Still take in less in taxes than we pay out.

-And we need to make sure that we hold
steadfast the concept of: Hard Work + Personal Responsibility = Success and
Wealth Creation!

We all need to get to work planning for:

-Small businesses going out of business due to
increased taxes and healthcare costs,

-Much higher inflation,

-The ultimate demise of the European Union (with
Spain leading it’s downfall and Greece being the prime example), and

-Plan for a major market crash – while the
timing is suspect it is inevitable.

We’ve chosen the path of printing more money – that leads
to hyperinflation – that always ends with a crash; rather than clearing out the
dead wood, letting the bankrupt banks fail, raising interest rates, stabilizing
savings, and relying on our innovation, our small businesses, our entrepreneurs
to dig us out of this mess.

With the 450-point drop – this ‘wild ride’ has already
started.

The Market:

Obama won the election. The market greeted him with a 450-point
plunge. Welcome back Kotter. Why the big selloff? One reason I’m hearing is that most of the
people running the EU are Goldman Sachs alumni – and they were told to keep the
EU stable until after the election. Don't
you find it interesting that we didn't hear a thing about Europe going down the
toilet for two months, and the VERY DAY Obama wins, Greece goes up in flames
with riots over austerity?

And now we have the "Fiscal Cliff" to contend
with. What is the “Fiscal Cliff”? The “Fiscal Cliff” is the penalty for a bi-partisan
committee’s (along with President Obama) not reaching agreement on a financial
direction for our nation. A series of
consequences (laws) will go into effect at midnight on December 31st,
2012 that:

According to J.P. Morgan economist Michael Feroli,
$280 Billion would be pulled out of the economy by the sun-setting of the Bush
tax cuts, $125 Billion from the expiration of the Obama payroll-tax holiday,
$40 Billion from the expiration of emergency unemployment benefits, and $98 Billion
from Budget Control Act spending cuts. In total, the tax increases and spending cuts
make up about 3.5% of GDP, with the Bush tax cuts making up about half of that.

Our economy is in no position to weather that kind of storm. So in one day we changed focus from who’s
going to win, to “Oh no - Europe's going down the toilet". In one day we went from standing in voting
lines, to "Oh no – in less than 2 months, our GDP will go horribly
negative".

Now the question is, can they get their act together and
make a year end market run? They could,
but the real question is why? The
economy isn't going to magically heal itself because Obama's still in office. Corporate sales are not mystically going to increase. The only way the market could make a move higher
is if Obama calls The Ben Bernanke and says: "Print up A LOT MORE DOLLARS and
pass it around the stock market so it rises and people love me".

The issue is that technically the DOW has lost it's 50
AND it's 200-day moving averages. The S&P lost it's 50, but is still
clinging to it’s 200-day moving average at 1380. That is the line of demarcation. If the S&P loses that 200-day average,
then I'm going to go (in a big way) to cash; however if we hold that 200-day,
they might use that as something of a support and build sideways and upward from
there. Again, even though the DOW is the
most watched and reported index on earth, it's the S&P that all the fundies
use as a benchmark. If the S&P
doesn't hold, this could turn (very quickly) into a really interesting pull
back. Don't get brave and try and buy
the dip, not yet. If it's going to hold,
we'll know soon enough.

Factually, the internals are a mess, and there's an awful
lot of "stuff" being sold – more than the averages suggest. The world looks fairly worried about
"something", and I don’t blame them.
Things couldn't stink much more, and if someone tries to tell you that
the millions of folks on the NJ/NY coast are going to be out spending for iPhones
and Christmas tech gear – well – don’t bet on it. Hurricane Sandy money will be spent, just not
on the ‘usual’ Holiday items.

In
2011 over $100B dollars came out of mutual funds, and in 2012 over $78B more
was pulled out of the market. Some of
this is going to bonds, some to gold, but a big percentage of this is going to
pay the monthly bills. Don’t forget that
when a postal worker is laid off – they get 2 years of unemployment. When the small business guy is laid off – all
he has is his 401k. So, I expect the huge
outflows to continue, only to be countered by The Ben Bernanke giving banks
billions to try and support the market. While
a "bounce" is certain, what isn't certain is if the bounce will hold
and whether they will work us higher into year- end? There was a lot of damage done on Wednesday
and Thursday. Friday didn't do much to
undue that damage. Until things quiet down, sitting on your hands isn't a bad
play, and we’ll make our trades when we see a trend develop.

Tips:

I continued to be somewhat of a “deer in headlights” this
week – not wanting to catch the proverbial “falling knife” – but not wanting to
‘go short’ for fear of The Ben Bernanke.
This coming week – if the S&P fails its 200-day moving average
(1380) – I will continue to move to cash in order to ride out this storm.

For
those of you unaccustomed to trading ‘options’ – you may want to consider the
‘inverse’ ETF’s offered by ProShares …

-Short the DOW 30 –
ticker symbol = DOG

-Ultra Short the
DOW 30 = SDOW

-Short the ‘Financials’
– ticker symbol = SEF

-Ultra Short the Financials
= FINZ

-Short the Nasdaq =
PSQ

-Ultra Short the
Nasdaq = SQQQ

-And if you LOVE
SILVER = Ultra Silver = AGQ

My
current short-term holds are:

-SIL – in at 24.51 (currently 23.88) – no stop
yet

-SLW – in at 38.50 (currently 40.51) – stop at
entry

-GLD (ETF for Gold) – in at 158.28, (currently
167.76) – no stop ($1,730.30 per physical ounce), AND

Expressed thoughts proffered within the
BARRONS REPORT, a Private and free weekly economic newsletter, are those of
noted entrepreneur, professor and author, RF Culbertson, contributing sources
and those he interviews. You can learn
more and get your free subscription by visiting: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com>
.

Please write to <rfc@getabby.com>
to inform me of any reproductions, including when and where copy will be
reproduced. You may use in complete form or, if quoting in brief, reference
.

If you'd like to view RF's actual stock
trades - and see more of my thoughts - please feel free to sign up as a Twitter
follower - "taylorpamm" is my
handle.

Views expressed are provided for
information purposes only and should not be construed in any way as an offer,
an endorsement, or inducement to invest and is not in any way a testimony of,
or associated with Mr. Culbertson's other firms or associations. Mr. Culbertson and related parties are not
registered and licensed brokers. This
message may contain information that is confidential or privileged and is intended
only for the individual or entity named above and does not constitute an offer
for or advice about any alternative investment product. Such advice can only be
made when accompanied by a prospectus or similar offering document. Past performance is not indicative of future
performance. Please make sure to review important disclosures at the end of
each article.

Note: Joining BARRONS REPORT is not an
offering for any investment. It represents only the opinions of RF Culbertson
and Associates.

PAST RESULTS ARE NOT INDICATIVE OF
FUTURE RESULTS. THERE IS RISK OF LOSS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GAIN WHEN
INVESTING IN MANAGED FUNDS. WHEN CONSIDERING ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS (INCLUDING
HEDGE FUNDS) AN INVESTOR SHOULD CONSIDER VARIOUS RISKS INCLUDING THE FACT THAT
SOME PRODUCTS AND OTHER SPECULATIVE INVESTMENT PRACTICES MAY INCREASE RISK OF
INVESTMENT LOSS; MAY NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE SAME REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AS
MUTUAL FUNDS, OFTEN CHARGE HIGH FEES, AND IN MANY CASES THE UNDERLYING
INVESTMENTS ARE NOT TRANSPARENT AND ARE KNOWN ONLY TO THE INVESTMENT MANAGER.

Alternative investment performance can
be volatile. An investor could lose all or a substantial amount of his or her
investment. Often, alternative investment fund and account managers have total
trading authority over their funds or accounts; the use of a single advisor applying
generally similar trading programs could mean lack of diversification and,
consequently, higher risk. There is often no secondary market for an investor's
interest in alternative investments, and none is expected to develop.

All material presented herein is
believed to be reliable but we cannot attest to its accuracy. Opinions
expressed in these reports may change without prior notice. Culbertson and/or
the staff may or may not have investments in any funds cited above.

Remember the Blog: <http://rfcfinancialnews.blogspot.com/>
Until next week – be safe.

GetAbby.com IVR Solutions

A TRIPLE is only a TRIPLE when you make it to 3rd BASE!

In today’s world, if you can’t achieve having ALL 3 - then you’re just hitting three singles – and NEVER putting everything together – and therefore NEVER putting yourself in ‘scoring’ position! And frankly, if you’re not going to ‘score’ - why be in the game? All 3 of these elements (web avatars, IVR solutions, mobile applications) NEED to work together, and combine in order to significantly reduce customer service costs, while dramatically enhancing the customer experience, and increasing your customer knowledge, retention and let’s not forget – increasing your bottom line.

First base is your speech application. Applications need to recognize voice commands, understand accents, languages, and colloquial enunciations, everyone sees the industry moving in this direction - from buying airline tickets to feeding your Xbox commands - virtually everything needs voice technology. Second base is web interactivity – the ability to ask a web avatar a question – in your own words – in your own language (very similar to speech). The extra element the web provides is instant connectivity to thousands of “friends” receiving and sending status updates - allowing your product to reach a wider audience, cheaper – better - faster.
Third base takes includes your mobile device. Apple has sold over 2 million ipads in 2 months – even though it’s only been released in 9 countries. 5 Billion iPhone apps have been downloaded. AT&T stopped taking orders for the iPhone 4G after being open for 27 HOURS. So if mobile devices are NOT be a part of your strategy, think again. And just do the math – a mobile device application can be written for tens of thousands – and circulated to millions of people – giving you a total cost of ownership in the ‘pennies’ - what other device offers that consistency - scalability – and cost?

Our job at GetAbby is to put you in position to score. We bring it all HOME. We take all three of these sigles, combine them, and allow you to bring it HOME in one application. GetABBY provides the technology that allows you to book airline tickets over the phone, and have the confirmation ticket sent straight to your mobile device, and confirm thru an avatar on the web – where the avatar will present you with more money saving ideas on additional places to stay. We’re there for you, ready to take you past third base – taking it home, however; is up too you to GetABBY.